Overview
- Elon Musk confirmed at an xAI hackathon that Tesla will remove safety monitors from Austin Robotaxi vehicles in about three weeks, enabling in-cabin operation with no human onboard.
- He said unsupervised operation is essentially solved and that even the passenger seat will be empty once the change takes effect.
- Current practice keeps a safety monitor in the passenger seat on Austin local roads and in the driver seat on highways, while Bay Area Robotaxi runs always use a driver-seat monitor.
- Musk followed the announcement with a post on X saying Waymo never had a real chance to beat Tesla, prompting Google DeepMind’s Jeff Dean to note Waymo’s 96 million autonomous miles and strong safety data.
- Musk has reiterated end-of-year targets for removing safety drivers since September, and Tesla frames its vision-only, fleet-scale approach as a contrast to Waymo’s city-focused, multi-sensor model.